Body and self management in digital culture: Case of self-tracking practices

Smartphone applications and portable/wearable devices constitute the basis for digital culture to have an important place in daily life practices. These devices and applications allow various bodily functions and activities (step, heart rate, sleep, calories, water consumption, etc.) to be monitored, measured, recorded and analyzed by the person herself. Being found its expression in terms such as "self-tracking", "life-logging", "quantified self", the practice has become an important part of contemporary digital culture and daily life. Based on the experiences and meanings attributed to the practice by the practitioners, in this study, titled "Body and Self Management in Digital Culture: Case of Self-Tracking Practices", it is examined how and in what ways self-tracking transforms one's perception and practices of one's body and self. In this context the answers sought to the questions are which devices and applications and for what purposes digital self-tracking is carried out, the nature of the data obtained as a result of the self-tracking practice, with whom this data is shared and how it is interpreted, and what kind of social relations are entered in the self-tracking process. It is also discussed how the user-technology relationship is established, the normative and discursive dimension of self-tracking and how and to what extent it structures the activity, self perception and body practices in the self-tracking practice carried out with digital tools and mobile applications. In this study, which aims to understand self-tracking on the basis of practitioners' experiences and the meaning they attribute to it, a phenomenological research model which is a qualitative methodological approach, was used. 44 participants who accept themselves as self-tracking practitioners were reached and in-depth interviews were conducted with a semi-structured interview form. The data obtained were subjected to thematic analysis. As a result of the study, it was found that the purpose of self-tracking, the definition of the problem that motivates the initiative, the type of applications and devices used, the way of using the applications and devices in question, the standards and norms taken as a basis in the practice could vary according to the differing goals and motivations of the participants. It is seen that self-tracking is considered by most of the participants as a process in which they acquire new awareness and knowledge about the practice and themselves, gain habits, and develop self-control over bodily practices. It was seen that in terms of the general participants, one of the most important reasons that pave the way for digital self-tracking was expressed as providing "concrete/clear information" to the user through digital data rather than predictive information. It is understood that the participants generally trust the data obtained during the self-tracking process, they see these data as more valid and important than somatic signals in some cases, and they perform the monitoring and control of bodily practices through the datalization of the body, which can be considered as a concrete feedback. Enabling the body to be monitored and controlled around certain normativity through data, this attitude constitutes the central aspect of self-control initiatives that stand out as the main theme of the study. In this context, the Foucauldian notion of biopower and neoliberal subjectivation models become functional in the interpretation of the findings, and accordingly, a new type of functioning of power is witnessed in the construction of acceptable bodies on the basis of neoliberal norms of being healthy, fit and productive. In the same context, the practice of self-tracking is considered as an important "tool" that fulfills the supervisory/regulatory function on bodies, and in this respect, it is in line with the goals of the neoliberal power of our age, and magnifies it. Considering this functioning is important in a critical agenda to be developed on body, self and agency capacities in the digital culture of our time.